James Hetfield’s 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom “Uncle Milty”

One of James Hetfield’s go-to guitars during the St. Anger era was his 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom, often referred to as “Iron Cross” or “Uncle Milty.” This guitar played a major role both in the studio during the album’s recording and throughout the tour that followed.

Before James put it into action, he gave the guitar some significant upgrades. He swapped out the original pickups for a set of EMG 81/60s, featuring custom gold-plated covers, and added Sperzel locking tuners for enhanced tuning stability.

Visually, James made the guitar his own. The most striking mod was the addition of an iron cross decal behind the bridge, which was added around 2002. While the Iron Cross might raise some eyebrows due to its association with Nazi Germany, Hetfield adopted it in line with the symbol’s use by outlaw motorcycle clubs in the 1960s as a rebellious emblem.

I had an old, I think, ’74 Gibson Les Paul. There was a motorcycle that I was building at the time, The Saga, and this was, you know, basically an iron cross that we were putting on the gas tanks. I had a couple of extra ones, so I was just goofing around and bolted one onto the guitar with some old brass standard screws.

James for EMGtv

Another notable visual change came in the form of a gold stripe above the pickups, a later addition that was clearly visible during the St. Anger studio sessions.

ESP Version

James wanted to use his beloved 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom as the inspiration for his own signature guitar. Initially, he approached Gibson to make it happen, but things didn’t go as planned. Reports suggest there were some disagreements between James and Gibson’s management—perhaps the iconic iron cross design didn’t sit well with them.

In 2007, after hitting a dead end with Gibson, James turned to ESP, a company he’d long trusted with his custom models. The result was the ESP “Iron Cross” model, a guitar that closely mirrors the look and feel of his original Les Paul.